126. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment further to the Taoiseach’s statement in Dáil Éireann on 10 June 2026 that cigarette butts outside State institutions are unacceptable and that he would ask for a re-examination of measures, whether the re-examination of cigarette litter will formally evaluate existing Irish citizen-generated environmental evidence, including OpenLitterMap. [52337/26]

Darragh O'Brien, Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment: Under the Litter Pollution Act 1997, primary responsibility for management and enforcement responses to litter pollution lies with local authorities. It is a matter for each local authority to determine the most appropriate public awareness, enforcement, and clean-up actions in relation to litter taking account of local circumstances and priorities.

Notwithstanding this fact, I have recently announced a package of measures to support communities in combating litter, including a new €250,000 fund for local authorities and an increase in litter fines from €150 to €250 from September. This is in addition to the €750,000 I have already made available in 2026 to support local authority efforts to tackle litter through the Anti-Litter & Anti-Graffiti Awareness Grant Scheme.

Since January 2023, all producers who place tobacco filter products containing plastic on the Irish market are required to be members of an extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme. Tobacco Product Plastic Filter Group is the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme for tobacco filters containing plastic in Ireland. Members of the EPR must contribute towards the cost of:

(i) cleaning up litter arising from their products; and

(ii) awareness-raising measures regarding the effects on the environment of their products.

The National Litter Pollution Monitoring System (NLPMS) is an environmental management tool that supports local authorities in monitoring and addressing litter pollution. It provides a consistent and standardised framework for assessing litter levels across the country and generating robust data to inform local, regional and national litter policy.

The data collected enables local authorities to monitor changes in litter levels over time, identify litter blackspots, assess the effectiveness of anti-litter initiatives and enforcement measures, and target resources where they are most needed.